Category Archives: Women & Finances

Connecting online with others in the personal finance world is a great idea for those of you who are involved in the personal finance world either personally or through your business. You can learn from experts in the field and by connecting and engaging with them you may also gain some followers on Twitter as well. Recently we talked about the benefits of participating in Twitter chats and shared some of our favorite personal finance twitter chats. Besides connecting with others through twitter chats, we also shared the list of some of our favorite personal finance bloggers to follow on Twitter. There are many other personal finance experts on Twitter that may not fall into that category of personal finance bloggers so we wanted to share some of our favorite personal finance experts on Twitter below.

@DaveRamsey– New York Times best-selling author and host of The Dave Ramsey

Recently we have been discussing what a Twitter chat is and how you can benefit from participating in them. Specifically in the area of personal finance there are some really interesting weekly Twitter chats you can join to connect with some great people. Besides participating in weekly Twitter chats and connecting with others in the personal finance world who join in on the chats, there are also some other great personal finance folks you should make sure you are following on Twitter. Learn from them, connect with them, engage with them. Here is our list in no particular order, of some of our favorite personal finance bloggers to follow on Twitter.

Today we are talking about the last Twitter chat on our list of Top 5 Personal Finance Twitter Chats. #CashChat is hosted by @MsMadamMoney and takes place every Friday at Noon ET. The focus of #CashChat is to help people learn tips and strategies on how to improve or enhance their money and credit management for healthier financial relationships. @MsMadamMoney is Tarra Jackson from the website TarraJackson.com. Tarra has a wide range of experience in the field of personal finance. She has over 20 years consumer finance industry experience as a corporate trainer, loan officer, Vice President of Lending and Executive Vice President of financial institutions. She currently is the CEO of Prosperity Now Financial Management Services, a financial wellness firm providing products, workshops and coaching to improve personal finance habits, money management mindsets and credit. Along with being an entrepreneur, she is a speaker and writer with her latest best-selling book, Financial Fornication: Avoid Financial & Credit Dis-Ease being published in 2011.

Recently we discussed our Top 5 Financial Twitter Chats and have been exploring each of the chats on that list one by one. Today I wanted to tell you about the weekly DebtChat. It is hosted weekly by @debthelporg from Debt.org, America`s Debt Help Organization. Debt.org is a site made up of financial experts dedicated to helping others understand debt as well as overcome their debt. The website aims to provide a range of informative articles, tools and free resources for their readers. They create content about a range of topics, such as reducing debt, finding student loans, maneuvering through real estate transactions and planning for retirement. They also have relationships with a variety of trustworthy debt service providers to help ensure readers’ financial needs are met. Their services include programs for debt consolidation, debt management and student loan consolidation.

The Debt.org blog offers articles on a wide variety of budgeting and personal finance topics, not just debt. They also offer a free quote on their site for assistance with debt relief. The weekly twitter chat focuses on topics surrounding debt like budgeting and other personal finance topics and it is held every Wednesday at 4pm Et. Follow @debthelporg along with the hashtag #debtchat.

Twitter chats are a great way to connect with others who share the same interests as you. If your blog or business surrounds the world of personal finance then these five twitter chats would be a way for you to find others on Twitter to follow. By engaging in twitter chats, it helps others who are in the same field notice you and engage back. If you are still unsure about how Twitter chats work and how to participate you can check out our blog post on What is a Twitter Chat and How to Participate.

Last week we talked about the personal finance conference coming up in October, FinCon2013. Some of you may also be interested in the Canadian Personal Finance Conference, CPFC2013, that is scheduled for September 21st-22nd in Toronto, Ontario. This will be the third year for CPFC and many of the well know personal finance bloggers and writers will be there.

Friday night of the conference is an optional social night for those who get in earlier that day and would like some time to meet others and socialize before the conference begins. The conference will run all day Saturday and Sunday with a speed networking event Saurday evening. As of right now tickets on the website are sold out but there is a place where you can request to be added to the waitlist. For events like these there are usually tickets that come available as it gets closer from those who planned on going but end up not being able to attend after all.

Speakers scheduled so far for the event include some well known names including;

Rob CarrickThe Globe & Mail –Personal Finance Columnist Rob Carrick has been writing about personal finance, business and economics for close to 20 years.

Kerry K. TaylorSquawkfox.com- “Where frugal living is sexy, delicious, and fun.” Squawkfox.com is one of the most successful personal finance blogs on the internet.

Dan BortolottiCanadianCouchPotato.com-“Your complete guide to index investing.”CanadianCouchPotato.com is the gold standard blog for index investors. The Globe and Mail selected his blog as the Best Investing Blog in Canada in 2011.

Bruce SelleryPersonal Finance columnist and author of Moolala –“Inspiring people to get a handle on their money so they can live the life they want”. Bruce Sellery is the author of the Globe & Mail bestseller, “Moolala: Why smart people do dumb things with money (and what you can do about it)”.

Last week we talked about FinCon2013 and why you should be attending if you are involved in the personal finance industry. Besides the networking and the learning, there is another aspect of FinCon that should be sure to make the weekend fun and exciting. Ignite has announced that, once again, they will be hosting an event this year at FinCon. Many of you out there may not be familiar with what Ignite is or how it works.

What is Ignite?

Ignite is not an event exclusive to FinCon but is a series of events hosted in over 100 cities worldwide. It has its very own geek subculture following around the world to those dedicated to its cause and the fun that comes from it. Most Ignite events are organized by volunteers and local events are often free. Ignite`s purpose is to share the passion of its presenters. Each presenter gives a 5 minute talk presented by a series of 20 slides that auto advance every 15 seconds. The Ignite event at FinCon2013 is part of the conference so if you are an attendee then you can attend the Ignite event.

How Does It Work?

If you have a passion you want to share and are interested in being a presenter for the Ignite event then you can come up with a topic that you would love to present. You can submit your topic on the FinCon Ignite website. Topics can be related to finance, blogging, or any other topic that you think could be fun, educational, or inspiring. After topics are submitted there will be a public vote to narrow down the choices. You can use your blog and social media to get votes for your submission. If chosen you will be contacted and can begin working on your presentation.

How Else Can I Get Involved?

If you love the idea of Ignite but don`t care to be a presenter then one way to get involved is to attend FinCon and the Ignite FinCon event on the evening of October 18th. It will be a lot of fun and a good evening to share other`s passions. Even if you are not attending you can get involved in the voting process. As of right now, voting has not yet begun but you can check back on the voting page later this month to give your input on what topics you would like to see. If you are not attending FinCon this year but love the idea of attending an Ignite event, you can check their events page to see if there is one in a city near you.

The financial blogosphere will be gathering in large numbers come this October in St. Louis, Missouri. While there are many blogging conferences out there to choose from, the annual Financial Blogger Conference, or FinCon, is the top annual epicenter for finance related bloggers. The mission of FinCon as listed on their site includes providing a “real world” connection for the people who enjoy new media (i.e. blogging, social media) and finance (personal finance, money, investing, etc.) The mission also includes providing a peer education in current consumer financial trends, as well as trends and tactics in new media (e.g. blogging, monetization, social media, etc.).

You can expect to see over 500 of the best financial bloggers along with finance professionals, finance companies and financial writers. This year will mark the third annual Financial Blogger Conference. Started by Philip Taylor, who you may know from his site PT Money: Personal Finance. Philip started as a CPA so he knows the financial industry from that perspective and then in 2007 he became a personal finance blogger. Now, besides running his own blog and organizing FinCon, he also does freelance work with ING Direct, TurboTax, and is also a US News contributing blogger.

If you are a personal finance blogger or someone in the financial industry , you should definitely consider attending this conference. The conference will run for four days October 17th-20th at they Hyatt Regency in St.Louis at the famous Gateway Arch.Besides the benefits to be gained from networking with others in the same industry, there are plenty of learning opportunities as well. Speakers announce so far for the conference include the following:

Jean Chatzky, the financial editor for NBC’s TODAY show, award-winning personal finance journalist, AARP’s personal finance ambassador, and host of “Money Matters with Jean Chatzky” on RLTV. Jean is also a best-selling author, with her most recent book being Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security.

Pat Flynn, creator of the Smart Passive Income brand. He has been recognized as one of the most successful and most transparent online entrepreneurs . Pat’s YouTube channel is a wealth of information and his podcast, recently featured in the New York Times, has been downloaded over 2.5 million times.

Derek Halpern, the creator of “Social Triggers,” is one of the most in-demand experts on using new media to attract customers. In addition to the wildly popular resource at SocialTriggers.com, Derek Halpern is also the host of one of the top marketing podcasts on iTunes, “Social Triggers Insider.”

For those financial companies interested in the FinCon expo area, this year they have changed to a 50 booth expo hall. It is a great opportunity to meet others in the industry and make connections with those in attendance. You can view more information on the details of the 2013 exhibit opportunities on the FinCon website. The types of attendees you could expect to meet includes coupon bloggers, tax bloggers, frugal bloggers, investment bloggers, personal finance writers and many more.

If you are involved in the financial community whether you are a blogger or work for a large financial company, you could benefit from this conference in some way. Find out more at the FinCon 2013 website.

America may be in debt,, but that doesn’t mean you have to be in debt too. There are many simple and everyday ways to cut back on expenses. Here are some of our favorites:
Leave the credit card at home! The typical credit card purchase is 112% higher than if using cash. Paying with tangible cash not only helps keep track of expenses, but it also helps the selection process to be more selective. And while we’re on the topic of selective shopping, remember that the retail price is never the right price. Do some snooping around, ask for deals—a little time and effort can save more than you think. This goes for packing lunch as well. Take a couple minutes in the morning to throw together a brown bag lunch as opposed to buying it later in the day. The average American spends almost ½ of their food budget on eating out—and we all know you’re more than just average…
But do you know what is average? $86 per month. That was the monthly average cost for home entertainment in 2011, and the price has continued to escalate since then. Pay-TV drives up your monthly costs and it is a waste if you pay for channels you rarely watch. While re-evaluating your home entertainment, don’t forget to assess your cell phone as well. Wireless companies depend on users upgrading hardware and signing up for services they may not need.
Other methods of cutting back include things like carpooling with co-workers, using public transportation or biking whenever possible, paying your credit card bill on time, and reducing interest rates. Check out the infographic below for more details and remember—it’s your money. You control it, don’t let it control you.

Business owners are usually aware that women consumers are the driving force behind a large amount of potential sales. In fact, many businesses have specific marketing strategies to target women and gain them as customers. In order to target women consumers, businesses must be aware of what women are looking for both as consumers and as financially responsible decision makers.

It is estimated that women are responsible for around $7 trillion in spending in the United States. Women are often the primary shoppers in the family and are also many times responsible for the research leading up to a purchase. Having them familiar with your brand is important because they are responsible for 85% of purchasing decisions. With the state of the economy today, these women shoppers are balancing their brand loyalty with their desire to stay within budget. Small businesses need to gain as much of this lucrative consumer element as possible. In order to do this, businesses should be familiar with how women today are doing financially as well as what they look for when shopping. Check out the facts below and the infographic from Ginger for more information on what women want financially.

46% of women say they are managing financially but do not enjoy having to be so careful

15% of women say their personal economic state was doing very well

15% of women say their personal finances have taken a turn for the worse over the past six months

40% of women have a goal of paying down debt for this year

23% have a personal finance goal of adding to their savings this year

22% of women are budgeting for a splurge or bug purchase of some kind

Women love to deal shop but why? 36% say that it helps them live within their means and stretch those dollars. 23% do it for the thrill. 16% of women say they like more expensive brands but want to get them for less.

You want your children to have the skills and knowledge to manage their money wisely. Gaining this vital life skill is less about luck and more about us giving them the tools they need to be responsible money managers later in life. We all want to give our children everything their heart desires but teaching them a lesson that will last them a lifetime is much more valuable than any physical object that we could provide them. It can be hard to argue the concept of delayed gratification with children but by starting early and training your children to understand money concepts and the value of saving, you can ensure their financial success later in life. You may think these concepts do not need to be introduced until children are older but if you start early with simple concepts and build upon those concepts as they grow then they will grow with a better understanding of money and finances.

Parents may not be sure what types of money related concepts are age appropriate for their children so this infographic can be a huge help in showing what age to introduce different concepts. Simple concepts such as why people work and what we use money for are easy enough for children as young as three years old to understand and because these concepts are obvious to all of us, sometimes we may forget to start with explanations as simple as these. By the age of six most children can begin to understand the idea of comparing prices before making a purchase and having to make choices about how to spend their money. At age 11 you can start introducing topics on how much to save and how credit cards work. After age 14 children can start learning about different ways to save money and when using a credit card is a bad idea. Age 18 and up can handle issues such as how much savings to have for emergencies and the basics of investing.

This infographic demonstrates the benefit of starting early and key concepts to understand about money management in each age group including saving, the power of thoughtful spending and the discipline to avoid long term revolving debt as key strategies to maintaining financial well being. It also demonstrates the purchase drive and motivations at each age group.

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About Me

Irené Waldman worked 11 years for Visa, before working at Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, part of the world’s leading alcohol beverage company and is now a marketing consultant working with high profile financial services companies, in addition to collaboration with marketing companies focused on loyalty.